[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 184 (Friday, September 20, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49436-49437]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-24185]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[C-549-501]


Certain Circular Welded Carbon Steel Pipes and Tubes From 
Thailand; Final Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of final results of countervailing duty administrative 
Review.

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SUMMARY: The countervailing duty order on certain circular welded 
carbon steel pipes and tubes from Thailand was revoked effective 
January 1, 1995, pursuant to section 753 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (the Act) (60 FR 40568). 
The Department of Commerce (the Department) has conducted an 
administrative review of this order to determine the appropriate 
assessment rate for entries made during the last review period prior to 
the revocation of the order (January 1, 1994, through December 31, 
1994). On May 20, 1995, the Department published in the Federal 
Register its preliminary results of review (61 FR 25205). The 
Department has now completed this administrative review in accordance 
with section 751(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended. For 
information on the net subsidy for each reviewed company, and for all 
non-reviewed companies, please see the Final Results of Review section 
of this notice. We will instruct the U.S. Customs Service to assess 
countervailing duties as detailed in the Final Results of Review 
section of this notice.

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 20, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Albright or Kelly Parkhill, 
Office of CVD/AD Enforcement, Import Administration, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20230; telephone: (202) 
482-2786.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Pursuant to section 355.22(a) of the Department's Interim 
Regulations, this review covers only those producers or exporters of 
the subject merchandise for which a review was specifically requested. 
See Antidumping and Countervailing Duties: Interim regulations; request 
for comments, 60 FR 25130, 25139 (May 11, 1995) (``Interim 
Regulations''). Accordingly, this review covers Saha Thai Steel Pipe 
Co., Ltd. (Saha Thai) and SAF Pipe Export Co., Ltd. (SAF). This review 
also covers the period January 1, 1994 through December 31, 1994, and 
nine programs.
    We published the preliminary results on May 20, 1995 (61 FR 25205). 
We invited interested parties to comment on the preliminary results. We 
received no comments from any of the parties.

[[Page 49437]]

Applicable Statute and Regulations

    Unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the statute are 
references to the provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by 
the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (``URAA'') effective January 1, 1995 
(``the Act'').

Affiliated Parties/Trading Companies

    In accordance with section 355.22 of the Department's Interim 
Regulations, this review covers only those producers or exporters of 
the subject merchandise for which a review was specifically requested. 
A review was requested for Saha Thai. However, Saha Thai is affiliated 
with SAF, an export trading company that began operations in 1993. All 
pipe exported by SAF is produced by Saha Thai. Because these two 
companies are affiliated, we are treating them as one corporate entity 
for purposes of our calculations.

Scope of the Review

    On March 29, 1994, the Department clarified the Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule (HTS) numbers that were applicable to the subject merchandise 
(see Memorandum to Susan Esserman from Susan Kuhbach, available in the 
Central Records Unit, Room B099, Main Commerce Building). This 
clarification was necessary because of annual changes in the HTS. The 
scope now reads:
    Imports covered in this review are shipments of circular welded 
carbon steel pipes and tubes (pipes and tubes) with an outside diameter 
of 0.375 inches or more but not over 16 inches, of any wall thickness. 
These products, commonly referred to in the industry as standard pipe 
or structural tubing, are produced to various ASTM specifications, most 
notably A-120, A-53 and A-135. During the review period, this 
merchandise was classified under item numbers 7306.30.10 and 7306.30.50 
of the HTS. The HTS numbers are provided for convenience and Customs 
purposes. The written description remains dispositive.

Analysis of Programs

Programs Preliminarily Determined To Be Not Used

    In our preliminary results, we determined that Saha Thai/SAF did 
not apply for or receive benefits under the following programs during 
the review period:
    A. Export Packing Credit;
    B. Tax Certificates for Exporters;
    C. Electricity Discounts for Exporters;
    D. Tax and Duty Exemptions Under Section 28 of the Investment 
Promotion Act;
    E. Repurchase of Industrial Bills;
    F. Export Processing Zones;
    G. International Trade Promotion Fund/Export Promotion Fund;
    H. Reduced Business Taxes for Producers of Intermediate Goods for 
Export Industries;
    I. Additional Incentives under the IPA.
    We received no comments. Therefore, our findings remain unchanged.

Final Results of Review

    In accordance with section 355.22(c)(4)(ii) of the Department's 
Interim Regulations, we calculated an individual subsidy rate for each 
producer/exporter subject to this administrative review. For the period 
January 1, 1994 through December 31, 1994, we determine the net subsidy 
for Saha Thai/SAF to be zero.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                  Net   
                                                                subsidy 
              Net subsidies--producer/exporter                   rate   
                                                               (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saha Thai/SAF...............................................        0.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As provided for in the Act, any rate less than 0.5 percent ad 
valorem in an administrative review is de minimis. Accordingly, the 
Department intends to instruct Customs to liquidate, without regard to 
countervailing duties, shipments of the subject merchandise from Saha 
Thai/SAF exported on or after January 1, 1994, and on or before 
December 31, 1994.
    The URAA replaced the general rule in favor of a country-wide rate 
with a general rule in favor of individual rates for investigated and 
reviewed companies. The procedures for countervailing duty cases are 
now essentially the same as those in antidumping cases, except as 
provided for in section 777(e)(2)(B) of the Act. Requests for 
administrative reviews must now specify the companies to be reviewed. 
See 19 CFR Sec. 355.22(a). The requested review will normally cover 
only those companies specifically named. Pursuant to 19 CFR 
Sec. 355.22(g), for all companies for which a review was not requested, 
duties must be assessed at the cash deposit rate previously ordered. 
Accordingly, for the period January 1 through December 31, 1994, the 
assessment rates applicable to all non-reviewed companies covered by 
this order are the cash deposit rates in effect at the time of entry.
    This countervailing duty order was subject to section 753 of the 
Act. See, Countervailing Duty Order; Opportunity to Request a Section 
753 Injury Investigation, 60 FR 27,963 (May 26, 1995). Because no 
domestic interested parties exercised their right under section 753(a) 
of the Act to request an injury investigation, the International Trade 
Commission made a negative injury determination with respect to this 
order, pursuant to section 753(b)(4) of the Act. As a result, the 
Department revoked this countervailing duty order, effective January 1, 
1995, pursuant to section 753(b)(3)(B) of the Act. Revocation of 
Countervailing Duty Orders, 60 FR 40,568 (August 9, 1995). Accordingly, 
the Department will not issue further instructions with respect to cash 
deposits of estimated countervailing duties.
    This notice serves as a reminder to parties subject to 
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility 
concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under 
APO in accordance with 19 C.F.R. Sec. 355.34(d). Timely written 
notification of return/destruction of APO materials or conversion to 
judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply with 
the regulations and the terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.
    This administrative review and notice are in accordance with 
section 751(a)(1) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1675(a)(1)).

    Dated: September 12, 1996.
Robert S. LaRussa,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 96-24185 Filed 9-19-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P